Sam tapped the bright blue Christmas ball gently, watching as it swung freely by its silver thread, its lightly jewelled surface washing her living room in a sea of colored flecks. Her Christmas tree was lovingly decorated with many such balls, all personalized, and each one equally beloved.
Her mother's ball was golden with tiny green silk leaves dotting its surface, her name etched in clear red writing. Her father's ball was strong, a deep rich metallic brown with a Grecian design woven around it in a silver glitter, his name impressed in black ink.
Sam smiled as she touched the next ball, and it responded to her caress by spinning back and forth on its string. Colonel O'Neill. His ball was red and striped in yellow with his name in bright green. A bit garish she conceded, but the ball conveyed fun and strength at the same time. Qualities she saw in her commanding officer every day.
Teal'c's ball was quirky. Brilliant in whiteness with his name running vertically down it, the ball was icicle shaped and dusted in a mist of fine white glitter. Not very Jaffa-ish, she thought with a smile, but when she had seen the ball in the shop window it just sang of Teal'c to her.
There were many others. Janet and Cassie hung together, so close that if the branch moved they'd bounce off each other. Sort of symbolic in a way with Cassie starting to show some teenage attitude and her mother quite often on the receiving end. If they weren't at loggerheads, they were each other's best friends.
Her brother was there as well surrounded by his wife and children, and within easy reach of his parents. So he and Jacob didn't have the best of father-son relationships, but like the balls building up the memories on this tree, so they were building up their mutual trust again.
With a soft sigh, Sam brushed the last ball. Bright blue. She watched as the lights danced off its surface as it spun in a chaotic circle. All were precious, all were chosen with love, but this one was special. Not for its color or the exorbitant amount of money it cost her, but for the person whose soul she believed it held. The ball slowed its merry swing, and with a final twirl on its string, settled with its name facing towards her.
This one was Daniel's.
"Merry Christmas, Daniel, wherever you are."